7 Motion Capture Performances Deserving Of A Razzie

Just in time for Tintin, there’s a considerable amount of Oscar buzz surrounding Andy Serkis and his performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Fox is mounting a huge campaign to push for a nomination for the actor’s motion capture performance of Caesar the chimpanzee. While there is an argument as to whether or not a motion capture performance should be eligible for an “acting” award, there is one thing you can’t deny. Andy Serkis is really good at acting like a monkey.

Motion capture strips an actor of their identity and allows them to invent a character completely from scratch. Serkis knows this and has spent a good part of his career honing these abilities. He’s at least deserving of recognition for his accomplishments. These other guys, not so much.

Tom Hanks – The Polar Express

Tom Hanks finally shed his nice guy image with his performance in Robert Zemeckis‘s The Polar Express. Once regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood, the multiple Academy Award winner is now known as a dead-eyed, clammy-skinned abductor of children. Look at the stern, cold reserve in those eyes. You don’t want that climbing into your son’s room in the middle of the night.

Sam Worthington – Avatar

Though Avatar was a huge leap forward for 3D and motion capture technology, it was criticized for its weak plot and acting. A lot of the hate was directed at the film’s lead, Sam Worthington. I feel that this was unfair. He played a pretty convincing paraplegic turned giant cat person and he hardly even slipped back into an Australian accent. Still, the movie wasn’t exactly Ishtar.